Pamela Hrncir

Graduated in 2016 with a major in Professional Music. Principal instrument: voice.

Position: Senior Account Executive (account management) at Hazmat Media, a modest size (10-15 employee) distribution warehouse which specializes in packaging and sending out product to influential people as part of marketing campaigns, including movies makers seeking Academy Awards. Pamela’s job is to be in touch with the customers, overseeing everything related to the order being placed, send to their warehourse, then packaged and shipped properly and followed-up on. During the slow season she’ll also call customers to see if they need any more work done, and during the busy season she’ll sometimes help with the actual packaging. “We all have no qualms about staying late to meet client deadlines. Nobody including the president is above stuffing envelopes.”

Overview: Pamela grew up overseas, with her father in the military and stationed at U.S. embassies. From age 16 through college she would do administrative work at embassies–mostly helping U.S. citizens with passport issues–and found she enjoyed it. Pamela and her boyfriend graduated Berklee at the same time and moved to L.A. Needing to make money right away, and given her experience she figured it would be easier to quickly find an administrative job than a music one.

She signed up with a temp agency, which placed her at Hazmat, in a more junior role. Within a few months, she was hired as a regular employee. About 6 months after that the senior person left the company. She started doing their job and, one successful busy season later, was officially promoted to her position and given a good raise.

Choice Quotes: “”I really enjoy the client relations. I enjoy doing my job well and making the client happy and making sure everything runs smoothly. I like being part of the machine that makes these product launches and award-winning films possible.”

“I still look at Berklee fondly and learned a lot while there. You don’t have to do something in music. If you have other qualifications, your Berklee background shouldn’t hold you back. Follow what you think is right and don’t be afraid to try new things.”

“The course load was a lot larger at Berklee than most schools, and that got me good at multitasking in a high-intensity environment–including the busy season at my job when there are a million expectations.”

“Temp agencies are your friend. They’re the middleman between what you already know how to do . I’ve known many people who have had success using temp agencies, esp. if you don’t have any direct connections.”